Rail transport in Belarus
Encyclopedia
Rail transport in Belarus
is owned by the national rail company BŽD / BČ
(ru
: Belorusskaja Železnaja Doroga / be
: Belaruskaja Čyhunka). The railway network consists of 5,512 km, its gauge is 1,520 mm (Russian
broad gauge
) and 874 km are electrified.
to Polatsk
and further to Vitebsk
. Line Warsaw
-Brest
, opened in 1866, completed to Moscow
in 1871.
to Orsha
through Minsk
, by an international rail line connecting Berlin
and Warsaw
to Moscow. Other important lines are the Minsk-Gomel (to Kiev
), the Orsha-Vitebsk
(to Saint Petersburg
), the Minsk-Vilnius
and others. Some international trains serving Belarus are the Pribaltika Riga
-Odessa
, the Minsk-Irkutsk
and the Sibirjak
Berlin-Novosibirsk
(and other Russia
n destinations).
The national network has no high-speed lines
and is not served by high-speed trains.
Minsk
is the only city with a subway system, the Minsk Metro
. The network consists of two lines: Avtozavodskaya
and Moskovskaya
.
The only cities with tramway systems are Minsk, Vitebsk
, Mazyr
and Novopolotsk.
) - yes - break-of-gauge
/ (Rail) - yes (Rail
) - yes (Rail
) - yes (Rail) - yes
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
is owned by the national rail company BŽD / BČ
Belorusskaja železnaja doroga
The Belorusskaja železnaja doroga or Belaruskaja čyhunka , is the national state-owned railway company of Belarus. It operates all the railway network in the country. Its name means "Belorussian Railway"...
(ru
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
: Belorusskaja Železnaja Doroga / be
Belarusian language
The Belarusian language , sometimes referred to as White Russian or White Ruthenian, is the language of the Belarusian people...
: Belaruskaja Čyhunka). The railway network consists of 5,512 km, its gauge is 1,520 mm (Russian
Russian gauge
In railway terminology, Russian gauge refers to railway track with a gauge between 1,520 mm and . In a narrow sense as defined by Russian Railways it refers to gauge....
broad gauge
Broad gauge
Broad-gauge railways use a track gauge greater than the standard gauge of .- List :For list see: List of broad gauges, by gauge and country- History :...
) and 874 km are electrified.
History
The first line crossing the country was the Saint Petersburg – Warsaw Railway, which started operating in late 1862. This included section and railway station in Hrodna. . During mid 1860's railway line was built also from DaugavpilsDaugavpils
Daugavpils is a city in southeastern Latvia, located on the banks of the Daugava River, from which the city gets its name. Daugavpils literally means "Daugava Castle". With a population of over 100,000, it is the second largest city in the country after the capital Riga, which is located some...
to Polatsk
Polatsk
Polotsk , is a historical city in Belarus, situated on the Dvina river. It is the center of Polotsk district in Vitsebsk Voblast. Its population is more than 80,000 people...
and further to Vitebsk
Vitebsk
Vitebsk, also known as Viciebsk or Vitsyebsk , is a city in Belarus, near the border with Russia. The capital of the Vitebsk Oblast, in 2004 it had 342,381 inhabitants, making it the country's fourth largest city...
. Line Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
-Brest
Brest, Belarus
Brest , formerly also Brest-on-the-Bug and Brest-Litovsk , is a city in Belarus at the border with Poland opposite the city of Terespol, where the Bug River and Mukhavets rivers meet...
, opened in 1866, completed to Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
in 1871.
Network
Belarus is crossed, from BrestBrest, Belarus
Brest , formerly also Brest-on-the-Bug and Brest-Litovsk , is a city in Belarus at the border with Poland opposite the city of Terespol, where the Bug River and Mukhavets rivers meet...
to Orsha
Orsha
Orsha is a city in Belarus in Vitebsk voblast on the fork of the Dnieper and Arshytsa rivers.-Facts:*Location: *Population: 125,000 *Phone code: +375 216*Postal codes: 211030, 211381–211394, 211396–211398-History:...
through Minsk
Minsk
- Ecological situation :The ecological situation is monitored by Republican Center of Radioactive and Environmental Control .During 2003–2008 the overall weight of contaminants increased from 186,000 to 247,400 tons. The change of gas as industrial fuel to mazut for financial reasons has worsened...
, by an international rail line connecting Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
and Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
to Moscow. Other important lines are the Minsk-Gomel (to Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
), the Orsha-Vitebsk
Vitebsk
Vitebsk, also known as Viciebsk or Vitsyebsk , is a city in Belarus, near the border with Russia. The capital of the Vitebsk Oblast, in 2004 it had 342,381 inhabitants, making it the country's fourth largest city...
(to Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
), the Minsk-Vilnius
Vilnius
Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...
and others. Some international trains serving Belarus are the Pribaltika Riga
Riga
Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...
-Odessa
Odessa
Odessa or Odesa is the administrative center of the Odessa Oblast located in southern Ukraine. The city is a major seaport located on the northwest shore of the Black Sea and the fourth largest city in Ukraine with a population of 1,029,000 .The predecessor of Odessa, a small Tatar settlement,...
, the Minsk-Irkutsk
Irkutsk
Irkutsk is a city and the administrative center of Irkutsk Oblast, Russia, one of the largest cities in Siberia. Population: .-History:In 1652, Ivan Pokhabov built a zimovye near the site of Irkutsk for gold trading and for the collection of fur taxes from the Buryats. In 1661, Yakov Pokhabov...
and the Sibirjak
Sibirjak
Sibirjak is the German spelling of the Russian name of a passenger train which currently links Berlin to some of main routes and cities of Russia. Its name means Siberian...
Berlin-Novosibirsk
Novosibirsk
Novosibirsk is the third-largest city in Russia, after Moscow and Saint Petersburg, and the largest city of Siberia, with a population of 1,473,737 . It is the administrative center of Novosibirsk Oblast as well as of the Siberian Federal District...
(and other Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n destinations).
The national network has no high-speed lines
High-speed rail
High-speed rail is a type of passenger rail transport that operates significantly faster than the normal speed of rail traffic. Specific definitions by the European Union include for upgraded track and or faster for new track, whilst in the United States, the U.S...
and is not served by high-speed trains.
Urban railways
Minsk
- Ecological situation :The ecological situation is monitored by Republican Center of Radioactive and Environmental Control .During 2003–2008 the overall weight of contaminants increased from 186,000 to 247,400 tons. The change of gas as industrial fuel to mazut for financial reasons has worsened...
is the only city with a subway system, the Minsk Metro
Minsk Metro
The Minsk Metro is a rapid-transit system that serves Minsk, the capital of Belarus. Opened in 1984, it presently consists of 2 lines and 25 stations totaling 30.3 kilometres...
. The network consists of two lines: Avtozavodskaya
Avtozavodskaya Line
Avtozavodskaya Line is a line of the Minsk Metro. The line opened in 1990 and crosses the city on a Northwest-Southeast axis. Currently it comprises 14 stations and 18.1 kilometres of track.-Timeline:-Transfers:-Rolling stock:...
and Moskovskaya
Moskovskaya Line
The Moskovskaya Line , is a line of the Minsk Metro. The line was opened along with the Metro in 1984 with the original eight station segment, and crosses the city on a Northeast-Southwest axis...
.
The only cities with tramway systems are Minsk, Vitebsk
Vitebsk
Vitebsk, also known as Viciebsk or Vitsyebsk , is a city in Belarus, near the border with Russia. The capital of the Vitebsk Oblast, in 2004 it had 342,381 inhabitants, making it the country's fourth largest city...
, Mazyr
Mazyr
Mazyr, also Mozyr is a city in the Homiel Province of Belarus on the Pripyat River about 210 km east of Pinsk and 100 km northwest of Chernobyl and is located at approximately . The population is 111,770 . The total urban area including Kalinkavičy across the river has a population of...
and Novopolotsk.
Rail links to adjacent countries
(RailRail transport in Poland
The Polish railways network consists of around of track as of 2008, of which the vast majority is electrified using a 3 kV DC overhead line system.Poland is a member of the International Union of Railways...
) - yes - break-of-gauge
Break-of-gauge
With railways, a break-of-gauge occurs where a line of one gauge meets a line of a different gauge. Trains and rolling stock cannot run through without some form of conversion between gauges, and freight and passengers must otherwise be transloaded...
/ (Rail) - yes (Rail
Rail transport in Latvia
Rail transport in Latvia is done on Russian gauge. The main railway company is Latvijas dzelzceļš.Historically Latvia had lot of different rail gauges, most notably standard gauge and narrow gauge.- Rail links with adjacent countries :...
) - yes (Rail
Rail transport in Russia
The Russian railways are one of the economic wonders of the 19th, 20th, and 21st century world. In length of track they are second globally to the railways of the United States. In volume of freight hauled, they are third behind the United States and China, using the standard measure of...
) - yes (Rail) - yes
See also
- Transport in BelarusTransport in BelarusThis article is about transport in Belarus. For Soviet transportation, see Transport in the Soviet Union.- Railways :Rail transport in Belarus is operated by Belarusskaya Chyhunkatotal:5,512 kmcountry comparison to the world: 32...
- Railway stations in Belarus
- List of town tramway systems in Belarus
- Children's Railroad of Minsk
- Rail transport in the Soviet UnionRail transport in the Soviet UnionThe Soviet Union was heavily dependent on rail transport, not least during the Russian Civil War and the Great Patriotic War, but also for industrialization according to the five-year plans....
